Project management can be a tedious and tiresome process, especially when there are multiple people working on multiple projects and you have no simple way to track their progress. As a result, the actual management process can slow you down even when projects are moving along rapidly. Enter Asana.
Asana is a cloud-based project management tool which helps to simplify, streamline and facilitate all projects in an easy-to-follow, user-friendly way. At MailGuard we use Asana to communicate what each employee is working on, what their priorities are and any potential road blocks. It is a great way to keep track of projects and edit their progress and / or priority because it allows everyone in the business to see this change in real time.
Let's take a look at how Asana can help you manage your projects.
Real-time tracking
With Asana you are able to create projects and within those you can create tasks, timelines and comments. Once this is done you can assign any number of tasks to each of your colleagues who will then be notified via their email inbox (assuming it's synced with Asana). Any changes or modifications to a task can be tracked in real time and communicated for everyone to see. It is this simple tracking which separates Asana from other project management tools. Often these tools won't keep track of updates and changes, or they only track your own changes, but Asana ensures every employee is, or has the ability to be, completely across all projects - even if they aren't assigned to them directly.
Communication
Asana provides an all-encompassing communication tool which bridges the gap between project management and internal communications. It allows users to view each others' tasks and comment on them directly if need be. This is a huge upgrade from using emails which are largely a one-on-one experience and can't be tracked by anyone else. Asana also syncs with Outlook calendars to remind you when tasks are due; this proves very handy when you're trying to balance multiple tasks at once.
It's user-intuitive
Even the least technical person can use Asana after a brief run down. It's broken into three sections; the left pane is used for navigation, the centre pane is where tasks are listed and where the management happens, and the right pane is for comments and keeping track of updates and changes to each task. Use the left pane to find your assigned tasks, company projects and your colleague's tasks. Use the centre pane for a detailed breakdown of projects (including all tasks to be completed) and for storing any other data. Use the right pane for tracking and commenting on tasks and projects. Simple as that. For a quick tutorial on how to use the software you can visit their online guide.
Pricing
There is a free version of Asana available to anyone who signs up on their website. This allows you to form a team of up to 15 members and create unlimited projects and tasks. After this there is a premium version which includes priority support as well as the ability to create private teams and projects and add unlimited third-parties (vendors, distributors, contractors etc). The premium version starts at $50 per month for 15 members and goes up to $800 for 100 members - any additional members after this and you will need to contact Asana directly for a quote.
